Fight The Good Fight
by loveandlearn92
Summary: Complete A/U: Arizona Robbins lives with a dark secret and a painful past. She hopes Seattle will be a fresh start, but where she goes trouble follows. Can she resist the urge to fight the good fight or will she reluctantly re-accept her calling and seek revenge?


Disclaimer: The characters are not mine, they were created by Shonda Rhimes and Grey's Anatomy is the property of ABC. No infringement intended.

Complete A/U: Arizona Robbins lives with a dark secret and a painful past. She hopes Seattle will be a fresh start, but where she goes trouble follows. Can she resist the urge to fight the good fight or will she reluctantly re-accept her calling and seek revenge?

AN: I was bored and this idea was floating about in my head, so I went with it. I'm still a newbie when it comes to writing fan-fiction and I've never attempted to write anything that isn't set in a hospital so not sure about this. I'm not exactly a great writer so please excuse any mistakes, they are all mine – No beta.

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**CHAPTER ONE. **

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Part One - New Beginnings.

The drive was long and painfully quiet. Seventeen year old Arizona Robbins was sitting alone in the backseat of the car, her mother and father; Barbara and Daniel Robbins, in the front. She was used to travelling with her parents; her father was a marine so moving was nothing new. The silence however was. Things were different without her brother here to keep her company. Tim was always making noise; talking, laughing, humming along to the radio, tapping his fingers impatiently when he was bored. With Tim around life was always loud and boisterous, and Arizona missed that more than anything right now. Things were quieter with him gone. No – not gone, that implies he might return. Tim was dead. He was never coming back.

Arizona sat in silence, her sad blue eyes watching the scenery pass outside the window of the car. Occasionally she would turn to face the front but she would catch her father giving her _that look_ in the rear view mirror and she would quickly avert her gaze, continuing to stare blankly out of the window. That look made her feel fragile and weak. She hated _that look._ Her parents were hurting—they all were— but they had broken down and mourned the loss. Arizona, on the other hand, had stayed strong. It wasn't easy, especially when they looked at her like that; like she was glass, ready to shatter at any moment. They assumed she was still in shock and hadn't processed everything yet because she remained stoic. They were waiting for her to lose control, but Arizona wouldn't let herself. Her guilt and anger overshadowed her sadness. This was her fault. She let it happen. Tim knew everything; he accepted her for who she was, and what she was. And it had cost him his life. Her parents weren't there. They didn't witness his death. They could never understand how she was feeling. It was her fault.

Moments later the car came to a stop, pulling up to a beautiful, modern looking house, enclosed by a picket fence. The house was white, two stories high, with big bay windows and a garage. Arizona stepped out of the car with a smile on her face, her eyes looking up and down the street; surveying the latest neighborhood her family had been uprooted to. She noted how suburban everything was. It was definitely more clean-cut than what she was used to. But, she liked it. She followed her parents up the slabbed path to the front door of the house. Daniel opened it, letting Arizona and Barbara enter before him; their eyes admiring their new home.

"Welcome home Mrs. Robbins," Daniel said, wrapping his arm around his wife's shoulder, standing in the doorway of their new home. Barbara smiled at him, gripping his hand that was resting on her shoulder tightly. "What do you think Arizona?"

Arizona smiled at her parents. "It's nice," she said, looking around. All of their furniture had been set up prior to them moving in, so the place really did look good. However, there were still some boxes scattered on the floor, waiting to be unpacked.

"Of course, it'll look more like home once we get the rest of these boxes unpacked," Barbara assured her daughter, walking towards her and coming to a stop when she reached Arizona's side. The place wasn't quite right without all of the accessories on display that personalized the Robbins household; the signature family photos, Daniel's miniaturized model of the U.S.S Arizona and Barbara's wealth of books that usually sat on the large mahogany bookcase that had been in the family for as long as Arizona could remember – all the little things that made a house a home to them.

Arizona sighed airily, before responding. "Yeah, it will," she confirmed, a dimpled smile covering her face. She was thankful for the move to Seattle – they all were – it was a fresh start in a new state; an opportunity to leave the horrible past they had experienced behind them. They felt too much pain in their old house; there were too many painful memories, well one any way – Tim's slaughter.

"I think we're going to like it here," Daniel added, gaining two nods of the head. "Now," he said in an authoritative voice, rubbing his hands together to let his family know he meant business. "Why don't we order some food and start unpacking these boxes." Barbara and Arizona smiled and the family spent the rest of the day unpacking boxes and eating take out before retiring to their rooms for the evening. It had been a long, exhausting day, but also rewarding, the house was looking great. It definitely felt like home.

Arizona threw back the covers of her bed, sat up and buried her head in her hands in desperation. She needed sleep. Every cell in her body was screaming at her to rest. She didn't know what was worse; the deafening silence that thundered around her keeping her awake or the nightmares that consumed her when she did sleep. She was just so tired. With a frustrated groan she fell back onto the bed, her head hitting the soft but firm pillow. She tossed and turned until her eye lids were too heavy to remain open, and finally she drifted off to dreamland.

_"No – no – no!" Arizona screamed, shaking her head in disbelief as she ran over to her brother's motionless body, which lay on the floor. "Tim!" she wailed, kneeling beside him. His white shirt was now crimson red; the blood spilling from his body staining it. Arizona's mind was reeling, this wasn't happening, it couldn't be. Everything seemed harder all of a sudden; it was harder to think, harder to breathe, harder to talk. She scooped Tim's body into her arms, holding him tightly against her chest. Her blood covered hand gripping his: pale and weak. She squeezed it gently, with only the smallest amount of pressure, hoping she would feel him apply some pressure in return but he couldn't; he didn't have the strength._

_He struggled to catch his breath, his eyes wide in shock and glistening with tears. "Tim, you're going to be okay," Arizona assured him, determined not to cry, determined to stay strong for him. She breathed in huge gulps of air, hoping that it would somehow clear the urge. But nothing purged her of the hollow feeling inside her stomach that rose into her throat and clogged her voice. "You just need to hold on." She said_, _sniffling her tears back at the same time. "Bailey – she can help you. Just, stay with me. She'll be here soon, okay?" _

_Tim managed to squeeze her hand and nod his head once, before his body went limp and his eyes stared without seeing; no sign of life in them. _

_"Tim," Arizona sobbed, softly caressing his cheek with her hand in the hope of waking him. "Please... Tim, don't leave me," she cried, rocking back and forth with his lifeless body in her arms, tears streaking her cheeks._

_"Bailey!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice sounding desperate. "Help! Bailey! Please …" she trailed off, consumed by the gut wrenching sobs escaping her. She buried her weak head on her brother's chest; as if to shield him from further harm, but it was too late. Tim was already dead. Nobody could save him now. "I love you," she whimpered. "Can you hear me? I am so sorry. I love you," she repeated, her body shaking violently as her heart shattered in her chest and tears cascaded down her face._

"Arizona," Barbara whispered, softly shaking her daughter to try to wake her up. "Arizona," she repeated, running a hand through Arizona's blonde hair as she whimpered in her sleep.

Arizona shot up in bed, sweating and trembling. "Tim?" she asked still half asleep, her heart beating wildly in her chest. She looked around the room frantically, tears welling in her eyes and making her vision blurry. She tried to blink them away, but couldn't. "I'm sorry," she cried. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't–"

"Oh, sweetheart," Barbara cooed as she wrapped her arms around her daughter. "It wasn't your fault. None of this was your fault. You hear me? Your father and I, we don't blame you, and you know that wherever Tim is now, he wouldn't either. It wasn't your fault," she repeated, her hand rubbing circles on Arizona's back, trying to ease the pain.

Arizona didn't know how long it was that she sobbed in her mother's arms, comforting words being whispered into her ear as she repeated how sorry she was over and over again. But when it was finally over, she lifted her tearstained face from her mother's shoulder and looked into her grieving eyes. Barbara was being so strong. It surprised Arizona to see her mom holding herself together like this. Usually the mere mention of her brother had her in tears. "I'm sorry mom," Arizona choked out. "I didn't mean to get so emotional. I didn't want to breakdown like this."

"Arizona," her mother said tenderly. "I'm glad you let your emotions out. I knew you were having a hard time. Ever since Tim died you've been so strong, but you've been distant and detached. I've been worried about you. I don't want to lose you too. There's no need to put on a brave face anymore. It's okay to miss him. It's okay to cry."

"I should have protected him," Arizona responded, in a tiny, strangled voice. "This should never have happened. I was too slow . . ."

"Listen to me, the only person to blame here is the one who attacked him," Barbara asserted. "It had nothing to do with you. Nothing. And I thank God every day that you weren't there when it happened. I can't even begin to imagine what would have happened if you had gotten home any earlier. This wasn't your fault."

"It wasn't," Arizona repeated. Saying it out loud did little to relieve her of the grief and guilt she was feeling. Her mother didn't know exactly what happened that night. Arizona did – she was there.

"No. It wasn't," Barbara said as she held out her arms for another hug and placed a small kiss on Arizona's temple. Once the embrace had been shared, she asked, "Are you okay?"

Arizona nodded and forced a small smile onto her face. "Yeah," she lied. "It was just a dream. I'm fine …"

"Okay," her mom replied hesitantly. "Now honey, try to get some sleep. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow."

Barbara stood from the bed and headed for the door. "Goodnight mom," Arizona whispered into the darkness.

"Sleep tight," Barbara replied, closing the door to her daughter's room.

Once her mom was out of sight Arizona's eyes scanned the room and landed on the farthest corner; a mysterious figure stood, cloaked in darkness. "Go away," Arizona whispered in a firm voice, speaking through gritted teeth.

"You called on me," the figure replied softly, taking a step forward. "And I've told you before I can't just go away. You might not like it but I'm your person. There's nothing I can do to change that. I'm your guide. I'm here to help and prepare you for-"

"Prepare me for what?" Arizona snapped, furious. "Getting kicked out of school? Losing all of my friends? Fighting for my life on a daily basis? Or the death of my brother. Where were you to prepare me for that? Where were you to help me then Bailey? You hear me call for you in a dream but when it comes to real life – when I need you most – you don't bother to show up."

"Arizona, it wasn't that simple," Bailey tried to explain.

"It was that simple and it's that over," Arizona declared. "I told you, I'm not cut out for this. Tell them they picked the wrong girl. You can find someone else to do your bidding. I'm done. Finished! Just – Leave me alone." Dark eyes stared into blue for a moment and then with a sigh Bailey turned her back on Arizona, vanishing into thin air and leaving her alone with nothing but her thoughts and the heavy silence that filled the now empty room. It took a while but Arizona eventually fell back asleep.

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Arizona woke up to the very annoying shrill of the alarm clock sitting on her bed side table, as well as a strong beam of light shining through her bedroom window, practically trying to blind her. She let out a low, feral growl and sighed, opening her eyes as slowly as possible and slamming her hand against the small plastic device in a movement that some would describe as something very close to a punch. The sound finally stopped and the room was plunged into silence. Letting out a content sigh Arizona shut her eyes again to block out the intruding light, knowing that she still had some time left before she had to get up to get ready for her first day at her new school – Seattle Grace Mercy West High.

It felt like mere seconds passed before she heard her mother calling her to make sure she was up. "Arizona! You don't want to be late on your first day," Barbara warned.

With a yawn and a stretch, Arizona stole a glance at the digital clock on the bedside table, which read 06:54 am. Cursing lightly under her breath, she wriggled out of the double bed and headed for the bathroom to shower before getting ready for school. After slipping on her clothes she looked at herself in the full length mirror. Her outfit was simple yet cute, casual but trendy – exactly what she was going for. Her golden hair was hanging by her shoulders and down her back in loose waves and her face was make up free – her skin naturally smooth; creamy and pale. She had applied the tiniest amount of pink lip gloss to her lips – just enough to make them shine but still look natural. With one final once-over in the mirror she made her way down stairs.

"Are you ready?" Barbara asked, Arizona shrugged and let out a sigh, swinging her backpack over her shoulder and onto her back. "It'll be fine," her mom assured her. Nodding her head, Arizona gave her best half-hearted smile and they made their way out of the front door and into the car.

Barbara dropped Arizona off at school first, before heading to work. Looking out of the car window Arizona watched the kids milling around outside; they were in groups or coupled up everywhere. This school was the same as all of the others she had attended; it was clear just by looking that there were cliques. And as usual she was the new girl.

"Okay, so remember to see the principal first and have a good day," Barbara said. Arizona nodded, smiling as she opened the car door. She knew the routine off by heart now. "Oh and honey," her mom added in a weak voice. "Try not to get kicked out?"

Arizona sighed as quietly as possible. _Here we go again_, she thought to herself, pasting on a fake, cheerful smile she nodded her head and climbed out of the car, closing the door behind her. As she entered the large sand colored building and began walking down the crowded hallways, she felt like people were eyeing her. It was uncomfortable. She could see them whispering as she walked past and she heard some idiotic guy whistle at her. She already hated being the new girl in school. She tried looking for the principal's office, but she didn't know where it was.

Her eyes scanned the area looking for someone who could help her. She quirked a brow when she noticed a girl standing alone, playing with the combination of her locker and apparently failing to open it. She had the frame of a model; she was tall with long legs and a lanky body, her dirty blonde hair sat at her waist; straight but also a little messy. She had the potential to be absolutely beautiful; her face was flawless even though she wore no make-up but something about the simplicity of her appearance and clothing screamed 'don't look at me.' Arizona was intrigued and found herself wandering over to the stranger.

"Hey," she said cheerfully, her voice vibrant and full of life. The girl either failed to notice her or pretended not to notice because she didn't stop what she was doing or even acknowledge her presence. Arizona wasn't sure if it was deliberate, so she waited, and watched the girl gather some of her books from her locker. Then, when the girl was finished what she was doing she lifted her head, looking at Arizona for a second. "Hey," Arizona repeated, two dimples emerging on her face, one on each cheek as she smiled widely.

The girl looked embarrassed. "Oh – Sorry," she replied, nervously using her hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I –I didn't know you were talking to me," she stuttered, looking down to the ground.

"It's okay," Arizona replied softly. There was something about the girl Arizona could identify with - she couldn't quite put her finger on it – maybe it was because she seemed like a bit of a loner and that's the way Arizona had felt lately. "I was wondering if you could direct me to the principal's office."

"Uh – Okay," the girl began, sounding more confident as she closed the door of the metal locker. "I'm heading that way so I can show you – If you want that is ..."

"Great," Arizona replied, smiling and falling into step beside the taller girl who led her down the narrow hallway. "I'm new," she added rather awkwardly, filling the silence that loomed over them.

"Yeah, I guessed that," the girl responded playfully, letting out a small laugh. "I'm Teddy, by the way," she said, extending a hand with a smile on her face, "Altman."

Arizona looked down at Teddy's hand for a moment before taking it in her own and shaking it with a smile on her face.

"Arizona," she replied, brightening a little. "Robbins."

"Arizona," Teddy repeated, testing the name on her lips. "I like it – is that for the state or the battleship?" she asked, curious.

Arizona looked at Teddy pleasantly surprised; whilst Teddy patiently waited for a reply, a small blush covering her face with each passing second. "Sorry, I'm just surprised," Arizona began. "Everyone always assumes I'm named for the state but it's the battleship. The men in my family have all served their country. How did you-"

Teddy grinned widely, realizing she had something in common with the blonde. "You are looking at a military brat," she explained. "Born and raised on the military bases, I moved from place to place until about three years ago - that's when I finally told my mom I wanted to settle down here. It gets tiring, meeting new people, only to leave and start all over again."

"I know what you mean," Arizona agreed, nodding her head.

"Anyway, this is you," Teddy said, flicking her wrist towards the principal's office. "It was nice meeting you Arizona."

"Yeah," Arizona smiled. "Thanks. I'll uh, maybe see you around," she added, but it came out as more of a question.

Teddy smiled. "Oh – definitely," she replied. Then, after a quick goodbye she walked off in a hurry, waving back at Arizona who pushed open the heavy wooden door to the principal's office.

"Welcome Miss Robbins," a deep voice boomed, greeting her as she entered the small box-like office. A slightly older than middle aged man sat behind the large wooden desk at the back of the room; his glasses were hanging off his nose as his dark brown eyes read from the file in his hands – her file. "I'm Principal Webber," he added, looking up and introducing himself as Arizona took a seat opposite him. Once settled in her seat, Principal Webber smiled, and then continued to talk. "I like to think we are a strict but fair school," he began. "The faculty is committed to excellence; we want our students to be the best they can be and obtain the necessary knowledge and skills required to make it in the real world. Do you understand?" Arizona simply nodded her response.

"Now, looking at your file I can see that you're a smart girl but you seem to have went off the rails a little this past year. Teachers noted a change in your behavior; you became easily distracted, seemed uninterested and would miss classes for no good reason. Perhaps more worrying to me, is the fact you got kicked out for-"

Arizona blushed slightly. "Sir, I can explain all of that," she began, but she didn't get to finish her sentence.

"There's no need," Principal Webber interrupted in an understanding voice. "Today is a new day Robbins. A new beginning. Another chance. A chance to be better, to do better and I believe you will use this opportunity wisely. Everyone has a past, people do things they regret but given your academic achievements I have no doubt you'll be a fine asset to this school. Prove me right."

Arizona smiled. "I will," she replied, grateful. "Thank you, Sir."

"Now, here is your schedule and the text required for each of the classes you are taking this year." Webber handed her the large stack of books. "I hope you enjoy your time here Miss Robbins. We're glad to have you."

With that Arizona left the office, jostling the books Principal Webber had given her in her arms, trying to get a better grip on them. While she was looking down, she bumped into something and the books fell to the ground, sliding all over the floor in a cliché like manner. She automatically bent down to pick them up but as she did she noticed it was not something but someone she bumped into. A girl – their hands met as they both reached for the same book and Arizona felt something she hadn't felt before; it was like a spark. A spark of chemistry and compatibility, a flash of clarity… she quickly shook it off, pulling her hand away and continuing to collect the rest of her books before looking up to meet the girls gaze.

"Here you go," the girl said, a warm expression on her face as they both got to their feet and she kindly handed over the books she had managed to gather from the floor.

Arizona stood frozen, her heart beating erratically as she studied the face of her mysterious helper. "Thanks," she replied. "And sorry," she added, "I wasn't paying any attention to where I was going."

"Oh – really?" the girl said, a questioning look on her face. "Penny for your thoughts then?" she asked flirtatiously, stepping closer to Arizona; her brown eye's piercing Arizona's blue ones, boring straight through her and into her soul.

Arizona swallowed hard. "I don't want to be rude or anything, but – this isn't really a good time," she responded, taking a step back. "Not that I'm not pleased to meet you and grateful," she added quickly, "I am, it's just, you know – I'm new and I'm running late for class so . . ." she trailed off rather lamely, cursing herself as she walked away from the girl. She glanced over her shoulder and the stranger stood in the same spot, a smile adorning her face as she raised a hand to wave at Arizona. She wasn't sure what it was about the girl but Arizona found herself waving back and as she turned the corner and disappeared out of sight she couldn't help the large grin that appeared on her face; her dimples on full display.

Her smile faded however as she entered her anatomy class to find a familiar face teaching – it was a woman. The same woman she had met a year previously – in this exact same situation – when she walked through the doors of her anatomy class in her old school. This was the woman who claimed Arizona had a higher calling in life – a greater purpose. One that had been prophesized and one only she could fulfill. This woman had introduced her to the supernatural ways of the world. She had taught her about the immortals; the purest of creatures to walk this earth and the darkest of creatures. However, none of that mattered now, because in this moment all Arizona saw was the woman who represented a year of her life she would quite happily take back – Miranda Bailey, in the flesh - literally.

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AN: I'm terrible when it comes to updating stories (slow) but I do plan on continuing this if there is a little interest in it. Callie will appear in this story, I love her way too much not to include her. I've not tagged her because if I started reading what I thought was a Calzona fic I would expect it to be pretty much equal between the two – but this story definitely centers around Arizona's character so better safe than sorry.

Anyway, if you made it to the end of this post – thank you for reading!


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